SAN ANTONIO (AP) - U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz picked up seven votes after a bag of previously uncounted ballots was discovered in his South Texas district. But the Corpus Christi Democrat still trails Republican ex-small business-owner Blake Farenthold by seven votes.

Ortiz has refused to concede a House seat he's held for nearly three decades and is mulling whether to seek a formal recount.

Seven ballots, all marked for the Democrat, where discovered in Nueces County and certified at the courthouse in Corpus Christi - evidence, Ortiz says, that the race remains too close to call. The seven votes leaves Ortiz behind Farenthold, 799 to 792.

Ortiz also says military absentee ballots and provisional ballots have yet to be tabulated. He's complained of "other discrepancies and voting irregularities from election day."

Amazing how there are always “missed” votes that favor democrats in EVERY recount. You would think those democrats would be more careful about leaving bags of ballots favoring their candidate just laying around uncounted...yeah right...

From the Comments section, This article is poorly written. Ortiz trails Farenthold by 792 after the 7 found votes. The way the article reads is he leads 799 to 792 which is obviously wrong in a US Rep race.

Anyway. The only time a democrat ever wants to see the military ballots counted is when they are behind. lol

That's the impression I got and am thankful for the clarification as I had visions of another Franken recount-until-I-will routine.

5
posted on 11/04/2010 7:19:47 PM PDT
by Oatka
("A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves." Bertrand de Jouvenel)

Election returns show Ortiz losing to Republican challenger Blake Farenthold by 799 votes. Ortiz has been in office for about 27 years.

Farenthold received 50,954 votes to Ortizs 50,155, according to election returns provided by the Office of the Texas Secretary of State.

Contacted by The Brownsville Herald for comment, Farenthold said, “really?” unaware that a bag of uncounted ballots had been found.

Libertarian Ed Mishou also had not been advised by Nueces County election officials that a bag had been found, but he said he could understand why, in his case, because this would not have made an impact insofar as his showing.

Asked if he was surprised that a bag was found, Mishou said: “Thats a tough question to answer on the record.”

11
posted on 11/04/2010 7:25:47 PM PDT
by smokingfrog
(Because you don't live near a bakery doesn't mean you have to go without cheesecake.)

Okay, this goes for all these races, Texas, Wash, Ct. This is 2010 in the United States of America. We went to the moon 40 years ago. Why are we still voting likes it’s the election of 1828 with paper ballots??? Brazil counted an entire nation in 10 hours.

xjatdet65: “Why are we still voting likes its the election of 1828 with paper ballots???”

You asked the right question. The most obvious answer is because people in power want them. The more important question is why do people in power want an archaic, chaotic voting system? Answer that and then consider this. Why are these problems commonly found in Democrat districts?

J.C. Davis who was the assistant to the Attorney General in several administrations, often visited my grandfather. As a young man I heard the stories about Lyndon and others. Those were days when there were NO Republicans in TX, they were all Democrats. But many many officials hated Lyndon and his crowd.

Dem Politics has always been nasty. I have been a Republican all my life. Cast my first ballot for Pres. for Richard Nixon. (would again knowing the outcome)

Most of my ancestors were literally burned out of AL during Reconstruction, so I know why there were no Republicans until the left took over the Dem party in the 1960’s.

19
posted on 11/04/2010 8:30:16 PM PDT
by Texas Fossil
(Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)

Estes was a con man who passed money to LBJ via Baker, LBJ's version of Thurlow Weed and Paul Begala.

Estes was running a con using stored grain, and a federal inspector came sniffing -- and was never seen again.

LBJ had a lot to answer for. Living on either a schoolteacher's or a congressman's salary, by 1964 he and Lady Bird were worth $9 million in cash, stock, and property (including an Austin TV station Lady Bird owned -- or rather held in Lyndon's name).

The land scandal may be the Sharpstown scandal of the early 1970's that brought down a group of state politicians around the then-speaker of the Texas house, Gus Mutscher. I think that was the time that Sissy Farenthold became semi-famous in Texas politics, along with the Daniel family, for standing up to the "players".

Estes was from south Texas and played down there. As I recall, grain was his medium of play.

Oh that’s it, Sharpstown. I’m sure I’m confusing things. You should write a book about Texas politics. It seems to me you know and remember all these things from 40-50 years ago. That’s very impressive to me, as my memory goes all the way back to day before yesterday.

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